GOTHIC REVIVAL SIDE CHAIR

Thursday, December 6, 12 

GOTHIC REVIVAL SIDE CHAIR 

Rosewood, Ash Upholstery c. 1845-55 

designed and manufactured by a Chair Maker


TERMINOLOGY 

Ogee Arch - A pointed arch composed of reversed curves, 

the lower concave and the upper convex 

Crocket - an ornament usually in the form of curved and 

bent foliage used on the edge of a gable or spire 

Finial - a crowning ornament or detail 

(as a decorative knob) 

Lancet - a pointed arch, of which the width, 

or span, is narrow compared with the height 

Tracery - architectural ornamental work 

with branching lines 

Quatrefoil - tracery or an ornament 

with four foils or lobes 

Finial 

Crocket 

Ogee Arch 

Quatrefoil 

Lancet 

Tracery


CURULE SIDE CHAIR 

Ebonized Cherry, Gilding, Silk Cover, c. 1870 

George Hunzinger

Like so many figures in the New York furniture industry of the 1860-70s, 

George Hunzinger immigrated to America in 1855 at age 20. Through his long 

and fertile career, he was granted 21 patents for furniture innovations. This 

chair is perhaps his most enduring one with diagonal cross bracing on the 

legs to the back of the chair for strength. The patent date is impressed on 

the verso of the crest rail. The upholstery foundations are original to 

the chair; however, the show covers are new and composed of a goldtued 

satin encased in a black, satin-rouched border. 

Made by his eponymous firm (1866-98) in New York 

City, the chair was offered with less gilding and 

more modest upholstery to appeal to different 

income levels. The modified curule base, Neo-Grec 

style turnings and gilded incising could be admired by 

the historicist; conversely, the structurally determined 

frame geometry, articulated joinery, standardized 

machine-turned components and spare efficiency 

of the frame are all true to the modernist canon. 

Thursday, December 6, 12


SLING SEAT LOUNGE CHAIR 

Anodized Aluminum. Rubber, Upholstery, c. 1935 

designed by Warren MacArthur Jr.


ADJUSTABLE LOUNGE CHAIR 

Laminated Birch, Brass, 1947 

designed by Herbert Von Thaden


Designed by Herbert von Thaden (1898-1969) 

Manufactured by Thaden Jordan Furniture 

Company (Est. 1946), Roanoke, Virginia 

Adjustable Lounge Chair, 1947 

Laminated Birch, Brass 

TIMELINE 

1948: The Museum of Modern Art features 

the ‘International Competition for Low-cost 

Furniture Design’

MAF (MEDIUM ARM FIBERGLASS) CHAIR 


Fiberglass, Enameled Metal 

designed by George Nelson


SOLID ELM BALL CHAIR, 1970 

Elm Wood 

designed and manufactured by Jon Brooks


Designed and Manufactured by Jon Brooks (b. 1944) 

New Boston, New Hampshire 

Solid Elm Ball Chair, 1970 

Elm Wood 

TIMELINE 

1775: Loyalists cut down 

the Boston Liberty 

Tree, an elm tree and 

meeting spot for the 

Sons of Liberty 

1960s: Post-Modernism 

1970: The Dutch Elm 

disease kills 77 million 

trees by 1970


HIGH STOOL 

corrugated cardboard, masonite, wood, 1971 

designed by Frank Gehry


Designed by Frank Gehry (b. 1929) 

Easy Edges, Inc. (active 1969-73) 

Los Angeles, California 

High Stool, 1971 

Corrugated Cardboard, 

Masonite, Wood 

TIMELINE 

April 22, 1970: First Earth Day 

reflects the growing interest in 

recycling and environmentalism

SYNERGISTIC SYNTHESIS XVII, SUB B1 CHAIR 

Finn Birch Laminate, Formica ColorCore, Latigo Leather, Sunbrella Acrylic, Top Grain 

Leather, Foam, Rubber, Steel, Maple Dowels, 2003 


designed and manufactured by Kenneth Smythe


Kenneth Smythe studied architecture briefly in Berkeley, California. His 

designs are generated from a unique and personal cosmology and are 

gestated over many years. Smythe was inspired by several sources: the 

theories of mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970); 

the music composed by Frederick A.T. Delius (1862-1934); and the Fibonacci 

numerical calculations. The designs that he creates come 

from the idea of creating them in a series, not each as 

individuals. He creates pieces that possess a consistent 

seat height and angle. All of Smythe’s 

designs are comprised of birch laminate 

from Finland stacked together and 

finished with Formica ColorCore 

plastic. These pieces are next 

held together and compressed with 

a threaded rod. Although appearing 

to be machine manufactured, the chair 

is designed and craed by hand.


APPALACHIAN BENT WILLOW 

ARM CHAIR 

willow branches, wood plank seat, hook 

rug seat cushion cover, c. 1890


Designed and Manufactured by a Chair Maker 

Southern Appalachian Mountains Region 

Appalachian Bent Willow Arm Chair, c. 1890 

Willow Branches, Wood Plank Seat, 

Hook Rug Seat Cushion Cover 

TIMELINE 

1897: Francis Goodrich opens 

Allanstand Cra Shop to bring aention 

to Appalachian cras 

Late 19 th century: Edward Sands Frost 

(1843-94) of Biddeford, Maine sells hook 

rug designs—burlap fabric with imprinted 

artistic paerns 

1933: The American Federation of the Arts 

publishes A Catalogue of Mountain 

Handcras


LARGE DIAMOND LOUNGE CHAIR 

Chrome Wire Frame with Original Green Wool, c. 1952 

designed by Harry Bertoia

Italian born sculptor, university lecturer and 

furniture designer, Harry Bertoia displayed 

a unique stroke of genius with his patented 

Diamond Chair for Knoll International in 1952. 

Bertoia was an inventor of form and an enricher 

of furniture design with his introduction of a new 

material: he turned industrial wire rods into a 

design icon. Educated at Detroit Technical High 

School, the Detroit School of Arts and Cras 

and Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield 

Hills, Michigan, Bertoia taught metal cras at 

Cranbrook. He worked with Charles Eames to 

develop his signature molded plywood chairs. 

Eero Saarinen commissioned him to design a 

metal sculptured screen for the General Motors 

Technical Center in Detroit. His awards include 

the crasmanship medal from the American 

Institute of Architects, as well as AIA’s Gold Medal. 


1961 Playboy photo featuring le to right — 

George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, 

Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom 

“If you look at these chairs, you will see 

that they are mainly made of air, 

just like light sculptures… 

Space goes clean through them.” 

— Harry Bertoia


BIRD LOUNGE CHAIR 

Chrome Wire Frame with Original Green Wool, c. 1952 

designed by Harry Bertoia


FANCY SIDE CHAIR 

Wood, Paint, Rush, Upholstery, c. 1820


WIRE SEAT SIDE CHAIR 

MAPLE, POLYCHROME, COTTON COVERED METAL STRAPS 

designed by George Hunzinger


FAUX BAMBOO SIDE CHAIR 

Maple, Cane, c. 1880-1890 

designed by Robert J. Horner


The American design industry was so heavily influenced by 

Japanese culture towards the turn of the century that bamboo had 

started making appearances in almost every form of cras, such as 

wallpaper, glass, furniture and textiles. Real bamboo itself is very 

sturdy and abundant, but hollow. This 

resulted in a dilemma for R.J. Horner 

and Company and their desire to 

manufacture bamboo furniture. They 

solved this by creating a formulated and 

precise system of lathe-turned rings and 

joint balls on very light, hard and round 

pieces of maple—giving way to the “Faux 

Bamboo” style furniture for which they 

were most known. The popularity of 

these items grew and were placed in 

bedrooms, garden rooms, country homes, 

hobby rooms and private siing rooms.


“MCKINLEY ARM CHAIR” 

Oak, Cane, Pigment and Stain, 1894-96 

designed by David Wolcott Kendall


Designed by David Wolco Kendall (1851-1910) 

Manufactured by Phoenix Furniture Company 

(Founded 1870), Grand Rapids, Michigan 

“McKinley” Arm Chair, c. 1894-96 

Oak, Cane, Pigment and Stain 

TIMELINE 

1888-89: David Wolco Kendall 

develops wood-stain colors 

April 5, 1897: First ”American Arts 

and Cras Exhibition” opens at 

Copley Hall, Boston


COLONIAL REVIVAL COMB-BACK 

WINDSOR ARM CHAIR 

Oak, Southern Yellow Pine, c. 1928 

designed and manufactured by Virginia Craftsman, Inc


JOHNSON WAX COMPANY CHAIR 

Enameled Steel, Original Loop Pile Upholstery, Brass 

designed by Frank Lloyd Wright


Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) 

Manufactured by Steelcase Corporation 

Grand Rapids, Michigan 

Johnson Wax Company Chair, c. 1938 

Enameled Steel, Original Loop Pile Upholstery, Brass 

TIMELINE 

1886 - present: S.C. Johnson Company also known as 

Johnson’s Wax of Racine, Wisconsin 

1930-45: Art Moderne Style 

1933-39: “Falling Water,” Bear Run, Pennsylvania 

1937: “Taliesin West,” Scosdale, Arizona 

1956-59: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 

New York, New York


THE NAVY CHAIR, 1944 

Brushed Aluminum 

designed by manufactured by Emeco for the U.S. Navy


ACRYLIC CHAIR, 1957 

Modeled Acrylic Resin, Polyester Upholstery 

designed by Erwine Laverne


ROCKING STOOL, 1958 

Walnut, Chromium Plated Steel Wire 

designed by Isamu Noguchi


Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) is considered one of the foremost 

American sculptors of the middle 20 th century. In 1954, Knoll 

Associates debuted a rocking stool, which Noguchi had designed 

for them a year earlier. Available in two heights, it 

was patented in 1958. This example is 

the taller version. Though not 

many sold, the design was 

so acclaimed that in 1957, 

and without any involvement 

from the designer, the manufacturer 

adapted the stool design into to a 

dining table by substituting a broad white 

laminate top and a heavy flat cast iron disc as 

the base. That version sold well for many years. 

Noguchi’s former sculpture studio in Long Island 

City, New York is now a museum.


RUSTIC TWIG BENCH 

Cast Iron, Black/Green Paint, c. 1855 

designed and manufactured by Janes Beebe & Co.

GRASSHOPPER ARM CHAIR 

Laminated Birch Upholstery 

designed by Eero Saarinen, manufactured by Knoll Associates 



EGYPTIAN REVIVAL SIDE CHAIR 

Ebonized Cherry, Lisere Rep 1865 Document Cover 

Designed and Manufacture Attributed to Pottier & Stymus


LADDERBACK DOLL’S CHAIR 

Wood, Rush, Dark Green Paint with Floral Sprays

SIDE CHAIR 

Ebonized Cherry, Gilding, Silk Lampas of Document 

used on Herter Seating Furniture (original foundation), c. 1880 


designed by Christian Herter


LADY’ RECEPTION CHAIR 

Natural unpainted Rattan, Hardwood, c. 1885 

designed and manufactured by Wakefield Rattan Co.


CHILD’S WICKER RECLINING CHAIR 

Natural Wicker, Printed Velvet, Brass 

designed and manufactured by Wakefield Rattan Co.


SIDE CHAIR 

Mahogany, Rosewood, Inlay of Copper, Brass, Pewter and 

Mother-of-Pearl, Silk Lampas Cover, 1885 

designed and manufactured by Hertz Brothers


“SHERATON” CHAIR 

Screenprinted Laminate over Plywood 

designed by Robert Charles Venturi


PIERCED TALL BACK SIDE CHAIR 

Ebonzied Cherry, Silk Gauffrage Velvet Cover 

designed and manufactured by Frederick Krutina


TEXAS LONGHORN ARM CHAIR 

DESIGNED BY WENZEL FRIEDRICH 

Texas Longhorns, Ivory, Oak, Silk Satin Cover, Brass, and Louis 

Comfort Tiffany Glass Ball Casters, c. 1890


Designed by Wenzel Friedrich (1827-1902) 

Manufactured by Wenzel Friedrich (active 1880-c.1890), San Antonio, Texas 

Texas Longhorn Arm Chair, c. 1890 

Texas Longhorns, Ivory, Oak, Silk Satin Cover, Brass and 

Louis Comfort Tiffany Glass Ball Casters 

TIMELINE 

1845: Texas becomes the 28 th state to join Union 

1867: The Chisholm Trail is used to move longhorn cale to 

market from Wichita to Abilene 

1880s: Barb wire fencing closes the open range in Texas and 

led to the demise of longhorn and open range 

1890: U.S. government declares the frontier closed 

1890: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show travels 

Music – 1893: Two Kentucky teachers write Happy Birthday


IONIC BENCH 

baltic birch plywood, 2010 

designed by Laurie Beckerman


Designed by Laurie Beckerman (b. 1953), New York 

Fabricated by Heritage Woodshop (Est. 1995), 

Brooklyn, New York 

Ionic Bench, 2010 

Baltic Birch Plywood Laminate 

The Ionic Bench is inspired by the capital of an ionic column. 

Instead of the look of dense stone, the lines of the form are 

extracted to create a light, spacious and resilient bench in 

which a person sits in the middle — framed on either side 

by two big, luxurious scrolls. The lines of the plies evoke a 

feeling of movement and vibrancy. Made from 1" thick Baltic 

Birch plywood, the bench’s profile is cut out 18 times with the use of CNC technology. The slices 

are laminated together for a strong, curvaceous form. The surfaces that reveal the plies are finely 

sanded and coated with a high-quality Italian acrylic; the result is a seat that is sensuously smooth 

to the touch. Beckerman, an architecture graduate of the Pra Institute, envisioned this design 

as perhaps a hallway bench where boots could be stored in the curves. Not only is this bench 

functional, it’s beautiful proportion was inspired by the artist’s study of the golden rectangle.


LCW (LOUNGE CHAIR WOOD) 

Molded Birch Plywood, c. 1954 

designed by Charles and Ray Eames


The ‘LCW’ (Lounge Chair Wood), designed by husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames, 

is undoubtedly the most celebrated chair design of the 20 th century. The underlying material 

choice actually begins with New Yorker John Henry Belter’s long-expired the long expired 1858 

patent for using heat and pressure to bend laminated wood with alternating grain direction into 

complex curved profiles. Aer meeting at the Cranbrook 

Academy, Ray assisted Charles and Eero Saarinen in their 

molded plywood design for the Museum of Modern Art’s 

“Organic Furniture Competition” for which they won 

first place. The Eameses continued working in molded 

plywood with a wartime commission to supply leg splints 

to the military. Further refinements in their technology 

resulted in the Biomorphic Modernism Style LCW. The 

striking aesthetics of this chair, which can seem almost 

zoomorphic, derive from the separation of the soly 

biomorphic-shaped back (head), seat (thorax), spine and 

legs, appearing to float by way of the mostly unseen 

rubber shock mounts. The chair’s stance feels animated.


ROCKING ARM CHAIR 

MAPLE, CLOTH TAPE, C. 1840


SLIPPER CHAIR 

Grape Vine, Oak Leaf, Carved and Laminated Rosewood, 

Caster, Silk Damask Cover, c. 1855 

designed and manufactured by John Henry Belter


In the late 18th century, enlightened Americans like Thomas Jefferson admired the fashion, culture, 

and arts of our revolutionary war ally, France. With the return to power of Napoleon III’s second 

empire in the mid-19 th century, interest was revived in the Rococo style of France’s ‘Ancien Regime’. 

A German immigrant, John Henry Belter, used technological innovations in the 

creation of his chairs which manifested in a number of forward looking patents. 

On July 31, 1847, Belter patented a type of jigsaw that efficiently cut the 

elaborate pierced back. He then followed with a patent on February 23, 1858, 

that detailed a method for bending laminated wood in multiple directions into 

a continuous rail and stile for pleasing aesthetics and added strength. This 

innovative process was employed 100 years later in the modernist chair designs 

of Charles and Ray Eames’ LCW, c. 1954. Rococo Revival motifs are represented 

by realistically carved floral and foliate bundles at the back, crest, undulating 

apron front, and on the delicate front cabriole legs integrated with the bold 

pierced silhouee of intertwined volute scrolls. The low seat height made it 

easier for women during the 19th century to put on stockings and slippers, 

in addition to other aire which included fashionable camisoles, peicoats, 

laced corsets and full-skirted dresses. The blue silk damask fabric cover is 

similar to that which is used in an example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


CENTRIPETAL ARM CHAIR 

Cast Iron, Wood, Sheet Metal, Gauffrage Velvet Cover, 

Faux Rosewood Cover, c. 1850

Designed by Thomas E. Warren (active with American Chair Co. 1849-52) 

Manufactured by the American Chair Co., Troy, New York (1829-1858) 

Centripetal Spring Arm Chair, c. 1850 

Cast Iron, Wood, Sheet Metal, Gauffrage Velvet Cover, Faux Rosewood Graining 

TIMELINE 

1820-40s: Railroads blossom and link towns; by 1840, 

3,000 miles of tracks; then by 1890, 164,000 total miles; 

U.S. time zones created to coordinate railroad timetables 

1840-70: Rococo Revival Movement 

Music – 1851: Old Folks at Home 

Music – 1855: Old Lang Syne 

1857: The steel coil spring is first patented for use in a chair seat 

1858: W.S. Thomson patents steel cage ladies crinoline in the U.S. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

CHAMBER ARM CHAIR 

designed by Thomas Ustick Walter, c. 1857


Designed by Thomas Ustick Walter (1804-1887) 

Manufactured by Hammi Desk Manufacturing Company, 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

House of Representatives Chamber Arm Chair, 1857 

TIMELINE 

1860-1880: American Second Empire Style 

Music – 1861-2: Bale Hymn of the Republic 

1851: Walter is appointed Architect of the Capitol June 11 

1857-1859: The 35 th Congress, composed of 237 

Representatives and 7 Delegates, meets 

1863: Mahew Brady Studio photographs President 

Lincoln in a House of Representatives Chamber Arm Chair 

1861-1865: Civil War fought 

1863: Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation


SUPERLIGHT, 2004 

Brushed Aluminum 

designed by Frank Gehry, Manufactured by Emeco


CURRENT, 2004 

Steel, Auto Paint 

designed by manufactured by Vivian Beer


OXBOW ARM CHAIR, 1903 

Oak, Original Green Leather, Hand-wrought Copper 

designed by David Robertson Smith


Designed by David Robertson Smith 

Manufactured by Stickley Brothers (Albert and John George) 

(1891- c. 1932), Grand Rapids, Michigan 

Oxbow Arm Chair, c. 1903 

Oak, Original Green Leather, Hand-wrought Copper 

TIMELINE 

1900-25: American Arts and Cras Movement 

1900: Jazz developed in New Orleans 

1900: U.S. population 76 million, more than 

4,000 millionaires 

1901: Gustav Stickley publishes Crasman 

Magazine 

1903: Wright Brothers fly the first 

successful airplane


PLANK-BACK CHAIR 

Fumed Oak, Leather, Brass, c. 1905 

designed by Charles P. Limpert Company


The intellectual underpinnings of the Arts and Cras 

Movement came from the 19 th century reformers John 

Ruskin (1819-1908) and William Morris (1834-1896). In 

the early 20 th century, it was brought into the arena 

of design as a reaction against the late Victorian era, 

and moved towards a focus on morality and domestic 

life. Stickley Brothers, Roycroers, Joseph McHugh 

and Charles Limbert used much of the language 

that describes the Arts and Cras Movement 

in advertising copy. Considered to be part 

of Limbert’s “Dutch Arts and Cras” line of 

1902, this design employs unique synthesis of 

styles used in the Glasgow school and Weiner 

Werkstae. An example of this rare design has 

surfaced bearing the original paper label of 

the firm indicating a manufacture date of 1902- 

05.


GRASSHOPPER ARM CHAIR 

designed by Eeron Saarinen


MOLDED FIBERGLASS CHAIR 

Molded Fiberglass, Iron, c. 1950 

designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman

GOTHIC REVIVAL SIDE CHAIR

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?